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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 8 

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BY THE AUTHOR OF "THE NEW REPUBLIC." 



Every Man His 
Own Poet. 




BOSTON: 

A. WILLIAMS & CO., PUBLISHERS. 



<-...' - -■ 






By the Author of " The 'Little Tin Gods-on- Wheels." 



THE 



CONFESSIONS OF A FRIVOLOUS GIRL. 

A' STORY OF FASHIONABLE LIFE. 
By ROBERT GRANT. 

With Vignette Illustrations by L. S. Ipsen. i6mo. Cloth. Elegant. $1.25. 
jgp* Tenth Thousand. 



" Mr. Robert Grant has written airesh, original, and amusing society 
novel." — Boston Advertiser. 

" It is bright, witty, and full of ' go ; ' and underneath its assumed 
frothiness there is a strong undercurrent of sound sense." — Boston 
Transcript. 

>l His present work will introduce him to every, circle where polite 
literature is appreciated. Though a young author, we can hardly recall 
a book that betrays less immaturity than that which he has just given to 
the public. ... A more pleasing piece of wcrk has not been in the 
book market for many months, and whatever the author does in the 
future, this has made his reputation. ' : — Boston Post. 

" As a picture of the flirt of the period, it is brilliant, amusing, and 
strikingly true to nature. The reputation of Mr. Grant cannot but be 
enhanced by this entertaining little story." — Boston Saturday Evening 
Gazette. 

" Very rarely have the follies and affectations of society been written of 
in such a fresh way. • . . The picture of life in society is very perfect." 
— New Haven Palladium. 

"It is eminently readable and exceedingly clever. . . . Mr. Grant's 
study of the frivolous girl's character as it transpires through her own 
narrative, is an excellent piece of artistic delineation." — G. P. Lathrop 
in Boston Sunday Courier. 

"The Confessions of a Frivolous Girl' is the greatest social literary 
hit of t lie year — Chicago Times. 

" It is a charming little novel." — Springfield Republican. 

" 1 he passages from the heroine's diary are written in a style of true 
feminine verbosity, so cleverly it is difficult to believe them the product 

of a masculine pen The descriptions of Newport are so well done 

as to suggest a comparison with the picture of the ' Gingerbread rair' in 
Dandets ' Kings in Kxile'." — Chicago Dial. 

'• The picture of the ' Frivolous Girl ' is not only a very charming and 
attractive one, but will be recognized by every reader who has seen much 
pf society misses, as astonishingly like. . . . His character-drawing is, 
in general, excellent ; he has clearly been a close and cool observer of 
iv and its heroes and heroines. . . . The book gives promise of 
better things from the same skilful pen; nor in Saying this do we mean 
there is any thing crude in it ; for the impression loft is, that it is, for a 
young author, an unusually finished and artistic production." — George 
M. Tuwi.k /';/ Literary II orld. 



A. WILLIAMS & CO., Publishers, Boston. 



jp^^anlifettw jto#* 



OK, 



THE INSPIRED SINGER'S RECIPE BOOK. 



BY A 

NEWDIGATE PRIZEMAN. 



Nuper ventosa isthaec et enormis loquacitas animos juvenum ad magna 
Burgentes veluti pestilenti quodam sidere afflavit. — Petronius. 



FIRST AMERICAN, FROM TH 
ENLARG 




BOSTON: 

A. WILLIAMS AND COMPANY, 

283 Washington Street. 
NEW YORK : BRENTANO'S LITERARY EMPORIUM, UNION SQUARE 

1880. 



7h 






University Press: 
John Wilson & Son, Cambridge. 



NOTE TO AMERICAN EDITION. 



-*o*- 



This brochure (which is now generally attributed to 
W. H. Mattock, the author of " The New Republic"), 
is reprinted by its American publishers simply with a 
view of supplying the demand which they have had for 
it; and which demand, notwithstanding their facilities 
as importers of English books, they have been unable to 
satisfy. 

It may be proper to state that it achieved in England 
a certain amount of popularity long before the appear- 
ance of " The New Republic." 

Boston, December, 1878. 



INTRODUCTION. 




have attempted in former times a 
work of this description, would have 
seemed, we cannot deny, to savor 
either of presumption or of idiocy, or more 
probably of both. And rightly. But we live 
in times of progress. The mystery of yester- 
day is the common-place of to-day ; the Bible, 
which was Newton's oracle, is Professor Hux- 
ley's jest-book ; and students at the Univer- 
sity now lose a class for not being familiar 
with opinions which but twenty years ago 
they would have been expelled for dreaming 



of. Everything is moving onward swiftly 
and satisfactorily ; and if, when we have made 
all faiths fail, we can only contrive to silence 
the British Association, and so make all 
knowledge vanish away, there will lack noth- 
ing but the presence of a perfect charity to 
turn the nineteenth century into a complete 
kingdom of heaven. Amongst changes, then, 
so great and so hopeful — amongst the dis- 
coveries of the rights of women, the infalli- 
bility of the Pope, and the physical basis of 
life, it may well be doubted if the great 
fathers of ancient song would find, if they 
could come back to us, anything out of the 
way or ludicrous in a recipe-book for concoct- 
ing poetry. 

Some, indeed, object that poetry is not 
progressive. But on what grounds this as- 
sertion is based, it is not possible to conjecture. 



Poetry is as much progressive as anything 
else in these days of progress. Free-thought 
itself shows scarcely more strikingly those 
three great stages which mark advance and 
movement. For poetry, like Free-thought, 
was first a work of inspiration, secondly of 
science, and lastly now of trick. At its first 
stage it was open to only here and there a 
genius ; at its next to all intelligent men ; 
and at its third to all the human race. Thus, 
just as there is no boy now, but can throw 
stones at the windows which Bishop Colenso 
has broken, so there is scarcely even a young 
lady but can raise flowers from the seed stolen 
out of Mr. Tennyson's garden. 

And surely, whatever, in this its course of 
change, poetry may have lost in quality, is 
more than made up for by what it has gained 
in quantity. For, in the first place, it is far 



pleasanter to the tastes of a scientific genera- 
tion, to understand how to make bad poetry 
than to wonder at good ; and secondly, as the 
end of poetry is pleasure, that wa should make 
it each for ourselves is the very utmost that 
we can desire, since it is a fact in which we 
all agree, that nobody's verses can please a 
man so much as his own. 



9 



OF THE NATURE OF POETRY. 




OETRY, as practised by the latest 
masters, is the art of expressing 
what is too foolish, too profane, or 
too indecent to be expressed in any other way. 
And thus, just as a consummate cook will 
prepare a most delicate repast out of the most 
poor materials, so will the modern poet concoct 
us a most popular poem from the weakest 
emotions, and the most tiresome platitudes. 
The only difference is, that the cook would 
prefer good materials if he could get them, 
whilst the modern poet will take the bad from 
choice. As far, however, as the nature of 
materials goes, those which the two artists 
work with are the same — viz., animals, yege- 



10 



tables, and spirits. It was the practice of 
Shakespeare and other earlier masters to make 
use of all these together, mixing them in vari- 
ous proportions. But the moderns have found 
that it is better and far easier to employ each 
separately. Thus Mr. Swinburne uses very 
little else but animal matter in the composi- 
tion of his dishes, which, it must be confessed, 
are somewhat unwholesome in consequence ; 
whilst the late Mr. Wordsworth, on the con- 
trary, confined himself almost exclusively to 
the confection of primrose pudding and flint 
soup, flavored with the lesser celandine, and 
only now and then a beggar-boy boiled down 
in it to give it a color. The robins and 
drowned lambs which he was wont to use, 
when an additional piquancy was needed, 
were employed so sparingly that they did not 
destroy in the least the general vegetable tone 



11 



of his productions ; and these form in conse- 
quence an unimpeachable Lenten diet. It is 
difficult to know what to say of Mr. Tennyson, 
as the milk and water of which his books are 
composed chiefly, make it almost impossible 
to discover what was the original nature of 
the materials he has boiled down in it. Mr. 
Shelley, too, is perhaps somewhat embarrass- 
ing to classify ; as, though spirits are what he 
affected most, he made use of a large amount 
of vegetable matter also. We shall be, prob- 
ably, not far wrong in describing his material 
as a kind of methyllated spirits, or pure psy- 
chic alcohol, strongly tinctured with the barks 
of trees, and rendered below proof by a quan- 
tity of sea-water. In this division of the 
poets, however, into animalists, spiritualists, 
and vegetarians, we must not be discouraged 
by any such difficulties as these; but must 



12 



bear in mind that, in whatever manner we may 
neatly classify anything, the exceptions and 
special cases will always far outnumber those 
to which our rule applies. 

But in fact, at present, mere theory may be 
set entirely aside ; for although in case of 
action, the making and adhering to a theory 
may be the surest guide to inconsistency and 
absurdity, in poetry these results can be ob- 
tained without such aid. 

The following recipes, compiled from a 
careful analysis of the best authors, will be 
found, we trust, efficient guides for the com- 
position of genuine poems. But the tyro must 
bear always in mind that there is no royal 
road to anything, and that not even the most 
explicit directions will make a poet all at 
once of even the most fatuous, the most sen- 
timental, or the most profane. 



13 



EECIPES. 




HE following are arranged somewhat 
in the order in which the student is 
recommended to begin his efforts. 
About the more elaborate ones, which come 
later, he may use his own discretion as to which 
he will try first ; but he must previously have 
had some training in the simpler compositions, 
with which we deal before all others. These 
form, as it were, a kind of palaestra of folly, 
a very short training in which will suffice to 
break down that stiffness and self-respect in 
the soul, which is so incompatible with mod- 



14 



ern poetry. Taking, therefore, the silliest and 
commonest of all kinds of verse, and the one 
whose sentiments come most readily to hand 
in vulgar minds, we begin with directions, 



HOW TO MAKE AN ORDINARY LOVE POEM. 

Tae^ two large and tender human hearts, 
which match one another perfectly. Arrange 
these close together, but preserve them from 
actual contact by placing between them some 
cruel barrier. Wound them both in several 
places, and insert through the openings thus 
made a fine stuffing of wild yearnings, hopeless 
tenderness, and a general admiration for stars : 
Then completely cover up one heart with a 
sufficient quantity of chill churchyard mould, 






15 



which may be garnished, according to taste, 
with dank waving weeds or tender violets: 
and promptly break over it the other heart. 



HOW TO MAKE A PATHETIC MARINE POEM. 

This kind of poem has the advantage of 
being easily produced, yet being at the same 
time pleasing, and not unwholesome. As, too, 
it admits of no variety, the chance of going 
wrong in it is very small. Take one midnight 
storm, and one fisherman's family, which, if 
the poem is to be a real success, should be as 
large and as hungry as possible, and must 
contain at least one innocent infant. Place 
this last in a cradle, with the mother singing 
over it, being careful that the babe be dream- 
ing of angels, or else smiling sweetly. Stir 



16 



the father well up in the storm until he disap- 
pears. Then get ready immediately a quan- 
tity of cruel crawling foam, in which serve 
up the father directly on his reappearance, 
which is sure to take place in an hour or 
two, in the dull red morning. This done, a 
charming saline effervescence will take place 
amongst the remainder of the family. Pile 
up the agony to suit the palate, and the poem 
will be ready for perusal. 



HOW TO MAKE AN EPIC POEM LIKE 
MR. TENNYSON. 

{The following, apart from its intrinsic utility, forms m 
itself a great literary curiosity, being the original directions 
from which the Poet Laureate composed the Arthurian Idyls.) 

To compose an epic, some writers instruct 
us first to catch our hero. As, however, Mr. 
Carlyle is the only person on record who has 



17 

ever performed this feat, it will be best for the 
rest of mankind to be content with the near- 
est approach to a hero available ; namely, a 
prig. These animals are very plentiful, and 
easy to catch, as they delight in being run 
after. There are, however, many different 
kinds, not all equally fit for the present pur 
pose, and amongst which it is very necessary 
to select the right one. Thus, for instance, 
there is the scientific and atheistical prig, who 
may be frequently observed eluding notice 
between the covers of the " Westminster Re- 
view;" the Anglican prig, who is often 
caught exposing himself in the " Guardian ; " 
the Ultramontane prig, who abounds in the 
" Dublin Review ; " the scholarly prig, who 
twitters among the leaves of the "Academy; " 
and the Evangelical prig, who converts the 

heathen, and drinks port wine. None of 

2 



18 



these, and least of all the last, will serve for 
the central figure, in the present class of 
poem. The only one entirely suitable is the 
blameless variety. Take, then, one blame- 
less prig. Set him upright in the middle of 
a round table, and place beside him a beauti- 
ful wife, who cannot abide prigs. Add to 
these one marred goodly man; and tie the 
three together in a bundle with a link or two 
of Destiny. Proceed, next, to surround this 
group with a large number of men and wo- 
men of the nineteenth century, in fancy-ball 
costume, flavored with a great many very 
possible vices, and a few impossible virtues. 
Stir these briskly about for two volumes, to 
the great annoyance of the blameless prig, 
who is, however, to be kept carefully below 
swearing-point, for the whole time. If he 
once boils over into any natural action or 



19 



exclamation, he is forthwith worthless, and 
you must get another. Next break the wife's 
reputation into small pieces ; and dust them 
well over the blameless prig. Then take a 
few vials of tribulation and wrath, and empty 
these generally over the whole ingredients of 
your poem: and, taking the sword of the 
heathen, cut into small pieces the greater 
part of your minor characters. Then wound 
slightly the head of the blameless prig ; re- 
move him suddenly from the table, and keep 
in a cool barge for future use. 



HOW TO MAKE A POEM LIKE MR. MATTHEW 
ARNOLD. 

Take one soulful of involuntary unbelief, 
which has been previously well flavored with 
self-satisfied despair. Add to this one beauti- 



20 



ful text of Scripture. Mix these well to- 
gether ; and as soon as ebullition commences, 
grate in finely a few regretful allusions to 
the New Testament and the Lake of Tiberias, 
one constellation of stars, half-a-dozen allu- 
sions to the nineteenth century, one to Goethe-, 
one to Mont Blanc, or the Lake of Geneva ; 
and one also, if possible, to some personal 
bereavement. Flavor the whole with a mouth- 
ful of "faiths " and " infinites," and a mixed 
mouthful of " passions," " finites," and " yearn- 
ings." This class of poem is concluded, 
usually, with some question, about which 
we have to observe only that it shall be im- 
possible to answer. 



HOW TO MAKE AN IMITATION OF MR. BROWNING. 

Take rather a coarse view of things in gen- 
eral. In the midst of this place a man and a 



21 



woman, her and her ankles, tastefully arranged 
on a slice of Italy, or the country about Por- 
nic. Cut an opening across the breast of 
each, until the soul becomes visible, but be 
very careful that none .of the body be lost 
during the operation. Pour into each breast 
as much as it will hold of the new strong wine 
of love ; and, for fear they should take cold 
by exposure, cover them quickly up with a 
quantity of obscure classical quotations, a few 
familiar allusions to an unknown period of 
history, and a half-destroyed fresco by an 
early master, varied every now and then with 
a reference to the fugues or toccatas of a 
quite-forgotten composer. 

If the poem be still intelligible, take a pen 
and remove carefully all the necessary parti- 
cles. 



22 



HOW TO MAKE A MODERN PRE-RAPHAELITE POEM. 

Take a packet of fine selected early Eng- 
lish, containing no words but such as are 
obsolete and unintelligible. Pour this into 
about double the quantity of entirely new 
English, which must have never been used 
before, and which you must compose your- 
self, fresh, as it is wanted. Mix these to- 
gether thoroughly till they assume a color 
quite different from any tongue that was ever 
spoken, and the material will be ready for 
use. 

Determine the number of stanzas of which 
your poem shall consist, and select a corre- 
sponding number of the most archaic or most 
peculiar words in your vocabulary, allotting 
one of these to each stanza ; and pour in the 
other words round them, until the entire 
poem is filled in. 



23 



This kind of composition is usually cast 
in shapes. These, though not numerous — 
amounting, in all, to something under a dozen 
— it would take too long to describe minutely 

here ; and a short visit to Mr. 's shop, in 

King Street, where they are kept in stock, 
would explain the whole of them. A favor- 
ite one, however, is the following, which is of 
very easy construction. Take three damozels, 
dressed in straight night-gowns. Pull their 
hairpins out, and let their hair tumble all 
about their shoulders. A few stars may be 
sprinkled into this with advantage. Place 
an aureole about the head of each, and give 
each a lily in her hand, about half the size of 
herself. Bend their necks all different ways, 
and set them in a row before a stone wall, 
with an apple-tree between each, and some 
large flowers at their feet. Trees and flowers 



24 



of the right sort are very plentiful in church 
windows. When you have arranged all these 
objects rightly, take a cast of them in the 
softest part of your brain, and pour in your 
word-composition as above described. 

This kind of poem is much improved by 
what is called a burden. This consists of a 
few jingling words, generally of an archaic 
character, about which we have only to be 
careful that they have no reference to the 
subject of the poem they are to ornament. 
They are inserted without variation between 
the stanzas. 

In conclusion, we would remark to begin- 
ners that this sort of composition must be 
attempted only in a perfectly vacant atmos- 
phere ; so that no grains of common-sensd 
may injure the work whilst in progress. 



25 



HOW TO MAKE A NARRATIVE POEM LIKE 
MR. ROBERT MORRIS. 

Take about sixty pages-full of the same 
word-mixture as that described in the preced- 
ing ; and dilute it with a double quantity of 
mild modern Anglo-Saxon. Pour this com- 
position into two vessels of equal size, and 
into one of these empty a small mythological 
story. If this does not put your readers to 
sleep soon enough, add to it the rest of the 
language in the remaining vessel. 



HOW TO MAKE A SPASMODIC POEM LIKE 
MR. ROBERT BUCHANAN. 

This is a very troublesome kind of poem 
to make, as it requires more effort and strain- 
ing than any other. You are yourself also 
one of the principal ingredients ; and it is 



26 



well? therefore, to warn you, before you use 
yourself for this purpose, that you will be 
good for nothing else after you have done so. 
The other ingredients, which, like those of a 
quack medicine, are mostly gathered under 
the moon, or in a planetary hour, must be 
first prepared as follows. 

For a poem of a hundred lines (enough to 
satisfy one person) take ten verses-full of 
star-dew, twenty-five verses-full of the tides 
of night, fifteen of passion-pale proud women, 
well idealized, five of starry ice-crystals, ten 
of dank grass and night-shade, fifteen of 
aching solitude, and twenty of frost-silvered 
mountain peaks, bubbling runnels, and the 
sea. Into these put the moon, with stars ad 
libitum; and sprinkle the whole over with 
broken panes of a Grub-street garret window. 
This done, your next step is to prepare your- 



27 



self. The simplest way is to proceed as 
follows : 

Take yourself, and make eyes at it in the 
glass until you think it looks like Keats, or 
the " Boy Chatterton." Then take an in- 
finite yearning to be a poet, and a profound 
conviction that you never can be one, and 
try to stifle the latter. This you will not 
be able to do. The aim of the endeavor is 
to make the conviction restive. Then put 
the two together into yourself ; and the con- 
viction will immediately begin to splutter, 
and disturb you. This you will mistake for 
the struggles of genius, and you will shortly 
after be thrown into the most violent con- 
vulsions. As soon as you feel these beginning, 
jump into the middle of your other ingre- 
dients ; your movements will before long 
whip them up into an opaque froth, which 



28 



as soon as you are tired out and become 
quiet, will settle, and leave your head pro- 
truding from the centre. Sprinkle the whole 
with imitation heart's-blood, and serve. 



HOW TO MAKE A SATANIC POEM LIKE 
THE LATE LORD BYRON. 

( This recipe is inserted for the benefit of those poets who 
desire to attain what is called originality. This is only to be 
got by following some model of a past generation, which has 
ceased to be made use of by the public at large. We do not, 
however, recommend this course, feeling sure that all writers in 
the end will derive far more real satisfaction from producing 
fashionable, than original verses ; which two things it is i?npossi- 
ble to do at the same time.) 

Take a couple of fine deadly sins ; and 
let them hang before your eyes until they 
become racy. Then take them down, dissect 
them, and stew them for some time in a 
solution of weak remorse ; after which they 
are to be devilled with mock-despair. 



29 



HOW TO MAKE A PATRIOTIC POEM LIKE 
MR. SWINBURNE. 

Take one blaspheming patriot, who has 
been hung or buried for some time, together 
with the oppressed country belonging to him. 
Soak these in a quantity of rotten sentiment, 
till they are completely sodden ; and in the 
mean while get ready an indefinite number 
of Christian kings and priests. Kick these 
till they are nearly dead ; add copiously 
broken fragments of the Catholic church, 
and mix all together. Place them in a heap 
upon the oppressed country; season plenti- 
fully with very coarse expressions; and on 
the top carefully arrange your patriot, gar- 
nished with laurel or with parsley ; surround 
with artificial hopes for the future, which are 
never meant to be tasted. This kind of 
poem is cooked in verbiage, flavored with 



30 



Liberty, the taste of which, is much height- 
ened by the introduction of a few high gods, 
and the game of Fortune. The amount of 
verbiage which liberty is capable of flavoring, 
is practically infinite. 



31 



CONCLUSION. 




E regret to have to offer this work to 
the public in its present incomplete 
state, the whole of that part treat- 
ing in detail of the most recent section of 
modern English poetry, viz., the blasphemous 
and the obscene, being completely wanting. 
It was found necessary to issue this from an 
eminent publishing firm in Holywell Street, 
Strand, where, by an unforeseen casualty, 
the entire first edition was seized by the 
police, and is at present in the hands of the 
Society for the Suppression of Vice. We 



32 



incline, however, to trnst that this loss will 
have but little effect ; as indecency and pro- 
fanity are things in which, even to the dull- 
est, external instruction is 'a luxury, rather 
than a necessity. Those of our readers, 
who, either from sense, self-respect, or other 
circumstances, are in need of a special train- 
ing in these subjects, will find excellent pro- 
fessors of them in any public-house, during 
the late hours of the evening ; where the 
whole sum and substance of the fieriest 
school of modern poetry is delivered nightly ; 
needing only a little dressing and flavoring 
with artificial English to turn it into very 
excellent verse. 



A LIST OF BOOKS 



PUBLISHED BY 



A. WILLIAMS & COMPANY, 

283 WASHINGTON STREET, BOSTON. 



ATKINSON. Our National Domain : A Graphical and Statistical 
Chart- By Edward Atkinson. Printed in colors and enclosed between hand- 
some board covers. 50 cents. 
*** The Boston Daily A dvertiser says it is a beautiful supplement of a large map 

of the United States, and a good ornament for the school-room, the counting-house, 

and the library. 

SgiP" it can be obtained, if desired, mounted on rollers and varnished, suitable for 

hanging on the wall. Price $1.25. 

ATKINSON. What is a Bank? What Service does a Bank 

Perform ? By Edward Atkinson. 8vo. Pamphlet. 25 cents. 

BUGBEE. Local Self-Government in England and the United 
States. By James M. Bugbee. Pamphlet. 25 cents. 

BUTTS. The New Business-Man's Assistant, and Ready 

Reckoner, for the use of the Merchant, Mechanic, and Farmer, consisting of 
Legal Forms and Instructions indispensable in Business Transactions, and a great 
variety of Useful Tables. By I. R. Butts. i vol. i2ino 132 pages. 50 
cents. „ 

*** It would be difficult to find a more comprehensive compend of business forms 
and facts, for every-day use, than this valuable Assistant 

COLBY. Agatha: A Romance of Maine in Blank Verse. By 

John Stark Colby. Small 4to. Pamphlet. 50 cents. 

ELLIS. The Evacuation of Boston, with a Chronicle of the 

Siege. By George E. Ellis, LL.D , author of " The Life of Count Rumford," 

&c, &c. With steel engravings, full-page heliotype facsimiles, maps, &c. 

1 vol., imperial 8vo- $3.00 

*** A monument of historical research and industry, worthy of the reputation of 
its distinguished author. It should be in every American library, small or large. Only 
a few copies now remain. 

EMERSON. Soteria; or the Science of Salvation. By Rev. 

W. Emerson. 148 pages. i6mo. Cloth, 50 cents ; paper, 25 cents. 

GODDARD. Newspapers and Newspaper Writers in New 

England, 1787-1815. By D. A. Goddard, editor of Boston Daily Ad- 
vertiser. 8vo. Pamphlet. 30 cents. 

GRANT. The Confessions of a Frivolous Girl. A Story of 

Fashionable Life. Edited by Robert Grant, author of "The Little Tin Gods- 
on-Wheels." With vignette illustrations by L. S. Ipsen. i6mo. Cloth, extra, 
$125. Tenth thousand. 

*** A love story, charmingly bright and original, wrought in an exquisitely unique 
manner from the polished and satirical pen of the author of " Little Tin Gods." 



HOWE. Science of Language; or Seven-Hour System of 
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HUBBARD. Summer Vacations at Moosehead Lake and 

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beautiful photograph illustrations done in Heliotype. i6mo. Cloth. 114 pages. 

,$1.50. Paper covers, 50 cents. 

* m * A wonderfully interesting book, full of valuable hints and suggestions for the 
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KNAPP. My Work and Ministry, with Six Essays. By Rev. 
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LAIGHTON. Poems by Albert Laighton. Frontispiece. i6mo. 

Gilt. 125 pp. #£.00. 

'the author is a native of Portsmouth, N. H., and this little volume is of special 
interest to natives of that ancient city. 

LEIGH. Modern Cotton Spinning- By Evan Leigh, C.E. 2 

vols. Quarto. Profusely illustrated. Second and enlarged edition. Price 
#30.00. 

LITTLE. Early New England Interiors. By Arthur Little. 

A Volume of Sketches in old New-England places. Thick oblong quarto, $5.00. 

*#* "To those far distant, unfamiliar with the nooks and corners of New England, 
and prone to consider the work of Puritanical colonists, noticeable only for its lack of 
taste, and conspicuous for green blinds and white painted walls, this work will be a 
revelation.'' — Boston Daily Advertiser. 

MALLOCK. Every Man His Own Poet; or, The Inspired 

Singer's Recipe Book. i6mo. Paper. Price 25 cents. Blue cloth, limp, gilt 

edges, 50 cents. Fifth thousand. 

*#* "' The condensed satire, the searching wit of the author's introduction, and his 
pretended critical sketch of ' The Nature of Poetry,' it would be difficult for any 
wriier of the day to match. The take-off ceases to be nonsense, and becomes a refine- 
ment worthy of Goldsmith at his best. . . . These jeux d'esprit were the work, as we 
now learn, of Mr. Mallock, the author of The New Republic.' " — G. P. Lathrop, 
in Boston Courier. 

*#* A most enjoyable piece of satire, witty, clever, and refined. In society its 
success, here and abroad, has been immense. 

MINOT. The Diary of a Bird. Freely translated into Human Lan- 
guage by H. D. Mi not, author of the "Land-Birds and Game- Birds of New 

England." Illustrated- Small quarto. Paper. 25 cents. 

* w * The author's elaborate work on the Birds of New England has won for him 
an enviable reputation as an ornithologist of the first order This appeal on behalf of 
the feathered tribe from one who knows and loves them so well cannot fail to be read 
with interest. 

PEABODY. Esthetic Papers, edited by Elizabeth P. Peabody. 

1 vol. Svo. Pamphlet. 248 pages. S2.00 Boston, 1S49. 

*** A rare pamphlet of which but a few copies remain for sale. It contains early 
papers by Emhrson, Hawthokne, Parkb Godwin, ThoRBAU, and others. 

PREBLE. A History of the Flag of the United States of 

America and of the Naval and Yacht Club Signals Seals, and Arms, and prin- 
cipal National Songs. Willi a Chronicle of the Symbols, Standards, Banners, 
and Flags of Ancient and Modern Nations. 11 y Rear Admiral Geo. Henry 
Preble, U. S. Navy. 1 vol. 8vo. Price $8.00. 



I 



t 



"•*„> An entertaining work of immense value and research. It is one that should 
find a place in all public and social libraries and State and Government offices, and will 
be found useful to shipmasters, pilots, yachtsmen, historical artists, as a work of refer- 
ence. It will comprise six hundred and fifty royal octavo pages of text, and be illus- 
trated by ten full-page colored plates of flags, and two hundred wood engravings of 
flags, maps, autographies of our national songs, &c. 

ROBINSON. History of Fifth Regiment, M.V.M. By Frank 
T. Robinson. Illustrated, i vol. Svo. 238 pages. $2.00. 

ROLLO'S JOURNEY TO CAMBRIDGE. A tale of the Ad- 
ventures of the Historic Holiday Family, at Harvard under the new regime. 
With twenty-six illustrations, full-page frontispiece, and an illuminated cover of 
striking gorgeousness, by Francis G. Attwoou. i vol. Imp. Svo. Limp. 
London toy book style. Price 50 cents. Third and enlarged edition. 

" It is a travesty of the ' Rollo Books,' and is one of the brightest, neatest 
pieces of travesty we have seen for many a day." — Boston Transcript. 

'* The style, the subject headings, the questions at the end of each chapter, all 
burlesque Jacob Abbott's old-fashioned books to perfection." — Boston Herald. 

" All will certainly relish the delicious satire in both text and illustrations." — 
Boston Traveller. 

"A brilliant and witty piece of fun." — Chicago Trilnne. 

" The artists' illustrations rival the text in cleverness, and the whole is highly 
amusing." — New York Nation. 

TOWER. Modern American Bridge Building. Illustrated. 
1 vol. 8vo. Cloth. $2 00. 

WHEELWRIGHT. A New " Chance Acquaintance." A Trifle 
served up on Twelve Plates, by J. T. Wheelwright. Illustrated by F. G. 
Attwood. i2mo. Paper. 25 cents. 

*** A Boston jeu d* esprit in verse. Very clever and witty. 
WHITEFIELD. The Homes of our Forefathers. Being a 

collection of the oldest and most interesting buildings in Massachusetts- From 
original drawings in colors by E. Whitefield. With Historical Memoranda. 
1 vol., oblong quarto, cloth neat, gilt edges, bevelled, $5.00. 

*#* The object of this book is to preserve and hand down to all future posterity 
representations of the Homes of their Forefathers. It has been done well and faith- 
fully, ably seconded by some well-known historical writers. 

WINES. The State of Prisons and of Child-Saving Institu- 
tions in the Civilized World. By E. C. Wines, D.D., LL.D. 1 vol. 
Large Svo. 719 pages. $5.00. 

***A vast repository of facts, and the most extensive work issued in any lan- 
guage, on matters relating to prison discipline and penal justice. 

WORCESTER. History of Hollis, New Hampshire. By S. 

T.Worcester. Maps and Engravings. Svo. 394 pages. $2.50. 

WRIGHT. Insurance and Self-Insurance. What is meant 
by Chapter 232 of the Acts of 1880. By Elizur Wright. Price 25 
cents. 

VILLE. High Farming without Manure. Six Lectures on Agri- 
culture. By George Ville. Published under the direction of the Massachu- 
setts Society for the promotion of Agriculture. i6mo. 108 pages. Price 25 cents. 
*** A wonderfully cheap edition of a famous book. 

For sale by all booksellers, or mailed postage paid on receipt of price. 

A. WILLIAMS & COMPANY, 

PUBLISHERS, BOSTON. 



By the Author of "A Frivolous GirL" 



THE 



LITTLE TIN GODS-ON-WHEELS ; 



OR, 



SOCIETY IN OUR MODERN ATHENS. 



"The Little Tin Gods" has had a run of popularity far exceed- 
ing any college production brought out in America, and society, 
keenly alive to the fact of the scarcity of the peculiar talents and 
still scarcer delicate touch so necessary to have for the making of a 
successful jeu d'esprit of the kind, has taken the author under its 
special charge. At a recent ball in this city, the walls of the rooms 
were decorated with selections from the poem, printed on satin 
silk, an honor flattering enough to have turned even the head of 
the lamented Praed, had he received such homage from his 
admirers. 

The popularity of the poem is not confined alone to Boston; 
society in New York has taken it to its heart with a degree of 
enthusiasm which it seldom extends to a literary production 
emanating from the Hub. Amongst the fashionable circles of 
other cities, the polished and oftentimes keen and telling witti- 
cisms of the clever poem have made it as well known as in the 
city of its birth. 

" This is a really witty take-off on the swells and belles, written 
in easy verse, and illustrated with outline drawings as humorous 
as Thackeray's." 

" ' A trilogy after the manner of the Greeks,* satirizing Boston 
society in a dashing and very comical way. ' The raving beauties 
and the tin gods are very sweet to each other's faces, but the most 
venomous backbiters ; ' and the beauties become savage in an abu- 
sive chorus, ending with this awful suggestion : — 

" ' When we assemble to sew for the indigent, 
Trust us to tinker the little tin monsters. 

"The 'Mount Desert Pastoral,' which follows the 'trilogy,' is 
also a clever skit." 

"The sketch is sharp and realistic; one laughs heartily over 
almost every page of the audacious ' trilogy.' " 



%* For sale by all Booksellers, or sent by mail, on receipt of 
50 cents, by 

CHARLES W. SEVER, Publisher, 

University Bookstore, Cambridge, Mass. 



Fresh, Neat, and Artistic. 

JIG'S HANDBOOK OF BOSTON. 

BY THE AUTHOR OF 

"HARVARD AND, ITS SURROUNDINGS." 



King's Handbook of Boston, issued from, the press December 15, 
1878, is the largest, most complete, and best printed book of its class 
over issued in Boston. Great care was exercised in its compilation ; 
and especial pains were taken with its typography. It contains 
about 275 pages of descriptions of the prominent and interesting 
features of Boston. The illustrations comprise 125 steel, photo, 
and wood engravings, heliotypes, and albertypes. 25 of the illus- 
trations are full pages in size, and include views of the New 
Post Office, when completed; the New English High and Latin 
School, when completed ; the Museum of Fine Arts, when com- 
pleted ; the Public Library, the City Hall, the City Hospital, the 
Hotel Brunswick, the Boston Common, the Public Garden, the 
Boston Water Works, the Club Houses, the Monuments, Statues, 
and Fountains, the Great Fire of 1872, the Quarrel of Winthrop 
and Dudley, the Arrest of Andros, the Boston Herald Building, 
the Boston University School of Medicine, the New England Mu- 
tual Life Insurance Building, the South Boston Iron Works, the 
Simmons Building, Macullar, Williams, & Parker's Establishment, 
the Forest Hills Cemetery, the New "Old South" Church, the 
New Trinity Church, and the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. The 
smaller illustrations include many views that have not yet appeared 
in books about Boston. 

King's Handbook of Boston was designed for a standard work, 
and the design has been carried out so faithfully in every partic- 
ular that it will undoubtedly find a place in the libraries of thou- 
sands of families, where a book of its class has long been heeded. 

The book is neatly bound in cloth covers, is printed on heaw 
tinted paper, and is published at the low price of $1.00 per copy. 



A. WILLIAMS & CO., Publishers, 

28-3 Washington Street, Boston. 






ENGLISH PUBLISHERS' DEPOT. 



A. WILLIAMS & CO., 

FOREIGN & AMERICAN BOOKSELLERS, 

AND PERIODICAL DEALERS, 



Hare always on hand the best works in all classes of litera- 
ture, including 

HISTORY, DRAMA, 

BIOGRAPHY, FINANCE, 

TRAVEL, POLITICAL SCIENCE, 

FICTION, THEOLOGY, 

POETRY, LOCAL HISTORY. 

Many of them in fine bindings, suitable 

For the Collector and Gentleman's Library. 

Special attention is also called to their very complete 
assortment of 

AGRICULTURAL, MECHANICAL, MEDICAL, 
AND SCIENTIFIC BOOKS. 

Send for Catalogue. 



283 WASHINGTON STREET, COR. SCHOOL STREET, 
BOSTON. 



I 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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